Ten thousand meters above the New World.
The unique White-White Sea stretched endlessly into the distance, layers of clouds rolling and swaying like a true ocean.
At that moment, the calm cloud layer was suddenly shrouded by an unknown force glowing with a faint purple light. A rift tore open across the clouds, splitting them apart.
From within that rift, a massive Marine warship slowly rose up from below, pushing through the cloud surface and emerging into view.
On the deck, Isshō continuously adjusted his gravity, cautiously lowering the warship onto the White-White Sea. As he gradually withdrew his power, the ship shuddered twice, but instead of falling, it stabilized and came to rest firmly atop the sea of clouds.
"It actually holds…"
Isshō said in disbelief, genuine surprise in his voice.
He wasn't the only one. Many of the Marines had never seen the legendary White-White Sea before. They crowded the deck, excitedly taking in the scenery around them.
"So this is the Skypiea Sea?"
Hina stood by the railing, eyes shining as she looked out over the endless white expanse. She almost reached out to touch it, but hesitation stopped her. Falling from here would mean being smashed into nothing.
Unable to contain her excitement, Hina turned, wanting to share the moment with her Admiral. She remembered asking earlier and learning that this was likely his first time here as well.
"Admiral—"
As she turned around, she saw Ortoren leaning back against the platform at the mast, a Den Den Mushi in his hand. He was speaking into it with a visibly surprised expression.
Seeing that the Admiral was occupied with something important, Hina chose not to interrupt. She turned back once more, refocusing on the breathtaking scenery around her.
It truly was Ortoren's first time in the so-called White-White Sea, in the waters of Skypiea.
Under normal circumstances, he should have been curiously observing his surroundings as well. But at this moment, all of his attention was fixed on the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
"The East Blue? A rubber fruit?"
Ortoren's tone was filled with surprise and confusion.
On the other end of the line, Spandine explained,
"Yeah. At first, I thought this intel might make Dragon unhappy. And honestly, he did seem displeased at the start. But when I mentioned the word 'Nika' in connection with that Devil Fruit, his attitude completely changed. He was instantly satisfied. That's when I felt something was wrong. There might be some extremely valuable information hidden here. After thinking it over, I decided I should report this to you, Admiral…"
Indeed, Spandine was a seasoned schemer. After selling World Government intelligence to Dragon, he noticed how drastic Dragon's change in attitude had been. That alone told him something was seriously off. The value of the information he had handed over might be far greater than he'd ever imagined.
Yet he had no idea what "Nika" actually was. Under these circumstances, it was impossible to consult Mary Geoise, and instinctively, he felt that doing so might invite grave danger.
After weighing his options again and again, he ultimately chose to report the matter to Ortoren, hoping the Admiral might know something about it.
"Nika…"
Ortoren said gravely.
"Spandine, you've really put the World Government in a terrible position. Listen carefully. Before Dragon makes his move, clean up every last loose end. Leave no traces connected to this matter. And do not involve yourself any further. If anyone discovers that you had a hand in this, you'll be in serious trouble."
Spandine froze, swallowing hard.
"Is it really that bad?"
"Extremely bad," Ortoren replied. "The World Government has been searching for Nika for eight hundred years. Every single time they're close to getting it, something goes wrong. This time, you're that 'something.' If you don't wipe yourself clean and get found out, you're as good as dead. You might even end up having no choice but to defect and join Dragon's Revolutionary Army."
He let out a short laugh as he finished, half-joking.
But beneath that laughter, Ortoren felt genuine shock and contemplation.
Who would have thought that after all these twists and turns, the Nika Fruit would once again be tied to the will of "D"…
…and might even fall directly into Dragon's hands.
Moreover, this timeline was completely different from what Ortoren remembered.
Originally, the Nika Fruit should not have appeared until several years later in the East Blue. It was supposed to be seized by the World Government and prepared for transport back to Holy Land, only to be intercepted by the Red-Haired Pirates, who just happened to be wandering around the East Blue at the time.
The Red-Haired Pirates wiped out the World Government fleet escorting the Nika Fruit and took it for themselves.
That single failure directly led to Spandine's right-hand man, Who's-Who, being punished. He was even sentenced to execution. In the end, he exhausted every means to escape from prison and defected to the Beast Pirates, becoming one of Kaidou's subordinates.
But now?
Shanks had likely already gone through reincarnation and started a new life altogether.
The Red-Haired Pirates had been completely wiped out as well, with some of their former officers now busy doing infrastructure work in Gold City.
And yet, under circumstances like these, the Nika Fruit had somehow surfaced ahead of time and fallen into the hands of the World Government. By a twist of fate, Spandine then happened to leak this information to Dragon, the leader of the rebels.
You really had to say it—Spandine was truly the World Government's lucky charm.
It was almost a foregone conclusion that once Dragon took this information seriously, there was no way the Nika Fruit would be safely transported from the East Blue back to Holy Land.
At this point, even if Dragon ended up feeding that so-called Nika Fruit to his son, Pirate King Luffy, Ortoren wouldn't be surprised anymore.
This fruit was downright ominous.
Was the will of the Sun God really that overwhelming? Could no one other than Pirate King Luffy suppress it?
Spandine felt as if his heart were being scratched by a cat. Even though Ortoren had already made the danger painfully clear, when his own life was on the line, he still couldn't help but ask,
"Admiral, what exactly is this Nika?"
"I don't know much myself," Ortoren explained. "As far as I know, the Rubber Fruit is nothing more than a false disguise. Its true form is actually a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, and its ability is called Nika. In ancient times, many people referred to Nika as the 'Sun God,' a being said to bring liberation and joy. In short, it was a spiritual symbol that people worshipped."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"And its relationship with the World Government has always been extremely tense. The World Government has tried to obtain this Devil Fruit time and time again, but never succeeded. It's almost as if the fruit itself possesses a will of its own, deliberately avoiding them."
"What I've just told you may sound vague, but all of it is forbidden knowledge, no different from the Void Century. It's information the World Government strictly controls. Merely knowing the word 'Nika' is a capital offense."
Ortoren's voice turned cold.
"Now do you understand how serious this is? No matter where you heard about 'Nika,' you must deal with it properly. Silence whoever needs to be silenced. Above all else, do not let this trace back to you."
Spandine felt like he'd listened to a whole lot and yet learned nothing concrete.
Even so, a chill still crept up his spine.
"Understood. Thank you for the guidance, Admiral," Spandine said hurriedly. "I'll go clean up my tracks immediately. Even though I don't think I left anything behind, I'll still do a thorough check."
After ending the call with Spandine, Ortoren continued to ponder the matter with keen interest.
"So without Shanks, the father steps in personally instead?" Ortoren muttered with a chuckle. "This is getting interesting."
When it came to Luffy, Ortoren had rarely given him any serious thought. There was no need to. The kid was still just a brat. By the time he truly started making waves, Ortoren figured he would already be sitting on the throne himself.
"Without Shanks as a guide, will that kid still be interested in becoming a pirate?" Ortoren wondered silently. "And now that Nika might end up in Dragon's hands… could he inherit his father's path and become the next leader of the Revolutionary Army?"
But only a moment later, he dismissed those vague, intangible thoughts.
It didn't matter.
Even if the kid ended up joining the Navy someday, it would have little to do with him.
At most, Garp would be grinning from ear to ear.
After putting away the Den Den Mushi, Ortoren stood up and stretched lazily. He looked out at his surroundings, raised an eyebrow, and said,
"So this is… the White White Sea?"
It truly was nothing like the Blue Sea below, carrying a charm all its own.